


love story

by mercu



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2171814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercu/pseuds/mercu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a bond between them, and it's going to last forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love story

I

Aerith may be young and idealistic, but she is not naive. Living in the slums has cured her of that very quickly. And still, from the moment the boy that fell from the sky opens his eyes, she _knows._ There is a bond between them, and it's going to last _forever_.

II

His glowing mako eyes and the way he fights and the costume make it so obvious, and still she misses it, she misses it because he is so gentle and kind and sweet and not scary at all.

And despite all that Shinra has done to her, to her parents, she still can't bring herself to fear him even after he tells her that he's with SOLDIER.

The sky isn't the only thing that doesn't seem so terrifying after all.

III

She never tells him how she feels, but as she holds his shaking frame, as he clings to her, letting her steady him through the sobs wrecking through his body, she thinks that he already knows.

IV

She doesn't put 'I want you to be in my life, always' on the tiny slip of paper, not because she doesn't want it, but because she knows that it already is and always will be true.

That, and there wouldn't be enough space for 'braid flowers that match your eyes into your hair' if she did.

V

She writes him letters, but a reply never comes.

They tell her that he's dead, but she knows that it's not true. Eventually though, she does loose faith that her messages ever find the recipient.

So she starts giving them to Tseng. Pleads him to find a way to somehow deliver them to Zack. He nods, assures her that he will personally see to it that he reads them.

She pretends not to notice the pitying look in his eyes.

VI

The winged hound is too weak to stand, much less protect her, but it remains vigilant, its eyes following Aerith as she prays and tends to the flowers.

It seems to be in a lot of pain, so she sits with it when she can spare the time, scratching and petting the head, hoping to ease its suffering.

Despite that, she's not surprised when one day, it spreads its wings and tiredly leaps into the air. She thinks this is probably its only chance, that if it goes down now, it will never go up again, and still she can't help calling after it.

And miraculously, it listens.

“You're going to see Zack, aren't you?” She whispers, already knowing the answer.

The hound whines, hovering next to her. Aerith hurriedly pulls out the eighty ninth letter and tucks it between the fur and one of the oddly placed bits of armor merged with its body. “Please give it to him, okay?”

The hound doesn't respond before it flies away and out through one of the holes in the church's roof, but Aerith has faith that this time, the letter will be delivered.

VII

She can pinpoint the exact moment it happens; the moment when Zack draws his final breath and his spirit dissolves into the lifestream.

She is sad, and she mourns for him, but she does not despair.

She can still hear his voice from the lifestream-weak, fragmented, confused, but it's there, and it will be there for her forever, and that is enough for now.

VIII

She knows it when she meets him for the first time, that this blond boy carries something of Zack inside him, a tiny fragment of his soul, and that is why she follows and persists.

She knows it's a mistake. She knows that Cloud is not Zack, and that him and Tifa have feelings for each other. Feelings she has no right to get in between of, not to pursue an echo.

But she can't help it, can't help grasping that tiny piece and pulling, and _pulling_ , because her and Zack were supposed to be forever and a ghost whispering from the lifestream is not enough anymore.

IX

But an echo is not enough either.

X

When she dies, she doesn't think about Zack.

She thinks about her duty, about saving all these people, saving the _planet_.

She thinks about how much it _hurts_ , how she's never felt this much pain in her life, how she wishes that it would just _stop_.

She thinks about how she doesn't want to blame Cloud for this, and how a tiny little part of her somehow  _does_ .

And then she thinks about how, despite the enclosing darkness, everything seems to be getting  _brighter_ and about the soothing voices that finally,  _finally_ welcome her home.

She doesn't think about Zack, but it's his voice that gradually grows louder and louder, until it finally envelops her with warmth and peace. It's his voice that remains when everything else slowly fades away into a faint buzz.

It's his voice that calls her name before everything falls away into nothingness.

XI

Then she opens her eyes again and Zack is right there beside her, a familiar stream of consciousness mingling with her own, like a tight embrace.

She doesn't ask, but he answers anyway, and it feels like a warm breath ghosting over her ear.

“ _Always._ ”


End file.
